Locking slider for slide fasteners



July 8, 1958 J. E. BURBANK 2,841,852

LOCKING SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS Filed March 28, 1955 INVENTCSR JOHN E. BURBANK BY M- %.m

H IS ATTORNEYS United States Patent LOCKING SLIDER FOR SLIDE FASTENERS John E'. Burbank, Stamford, Conn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Cue Fastener, Inc., a corporation of New York Application March 28, 1955, Serial No. 497 ,041'

Claims. (Cl. 24205.14)

This invention relates to the improvements in slide fasteners and it relates particularly to improved lock type sliders for slide fasteners of the coil or spiral type.

The spiral or coil type slide fasteners are made up of helically wound strips of filaments of flexible materials such as wire or nylon filaments of oblong crosssection. The sliders used with such fasteners have been of the non-locking type because no really satisfactory means has been provided for locking these fastening elements together without danger of damaging the material making up the coils or filaments. When a pressure pad type of slider has been used heretofore, there is a danger is provided with looking teeth that engage between the coils or loops of a coil type fastener at a zone where they are not completely meshed, thereby enabling the coils to avoid damaging compression by the teeth. Moreover, the teeth are so arranged that if excessive transverse tension stresses are applied to the fastener at the zone of the locking slider, the coils of the fastener can deflect around the teeth and allow the slider to release at least partially to relieve the fastener of the stresses.

The invention also provides a type of fastener that can be easily manufactured and assembled so that the locking tab serves not only for locking purposes but for manipulating the slider along the stringers of the fastening elements.

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a typical slider embodying the present invention with the locking and manipulating tab in its locking position;

Fig. 2 is a view in cross-section of a portion of the slider illustrating the relation of the locking teeth to the inter-locking loops or convolutions of a coil type fastener;

Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section of a portion of the slider showing the locking tab in its raised position for moving the slider along the fastening elements;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary and sectional view illustrating the manner in which the locking tab is inserted into the slider preparatory to clinching it to the bale of the slider;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the locking tab prior to attachment to the slider; and

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the locking tab when assembled with the slider.

The form of slider chosen for purposes of illustration is best adapted for use with a coil type fastener of the type disclosed in the Neitlich application, Serial No. 383,286,

filed September 30, 1953. As disclosed in this application, the locking coils are formed of generally helical coils of a filament such as nylon having an oblong crosssection, these coils being suitably stitched to a tape and provided with a backing bead cord for engagement by the slider. Such a fastener is illustrated generally in Fig. 2, in which the elements 10 and 11 are the coils of the fastener and are attached to fabric tapes 12 and 13, respectively, which have guide bead cords 14 and 15 adjacent the junction of the coils 10 and 11 with the tapes 12 and 13.

The slider 16 is best shown in Fig. 1.- It may include a top plate 17 and a bottom plate generally of fan-shape connected at their wider ends by an island 20 having concavely surfaces 23 and 24 on opposite sides thereof for guiding the coils of the fastener into and out of meshing relation. The plates 17 and 19 of the slider are provided with lateral edge flanges 27 and 28 at opposite edges thereof for engagement with the bead cords 14 and 15 to guide them and the coils lit and 11 into and out of meshing relation. So much of the slider as has been described above is conventional. Such a conventional slider is, however, modified in accordance with the present invention to provide a locking and manipulating mechanism of novel type. Thus, as shown in Fig. l, the top late 17 of the slider has a bale 29 punched out of it so that the ends of the bale are joined with the top plate but the mid-portion of the bale is spaced from the top plate to leave an elongated space 30 between them. Also, in punching the bale 29 out of the top plate, a slot 31 is left in the top plate behind the bale 29 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The bale 29, space 39 and the slot 31 serve to receive and support a tab 32 which has the dual function of serving to manipulate or move the slider 16 along the coils 10 and 11 and also to lock the coils against separation. As shown, the tab may consist essentially of a U-shaped or O-shaped strip of metal which has sides or arms 33 and 34 joined at their outer ends by means of a cross bar 35 or the like.

The opposite ends of the arms 33 and 34 have end portions 36 and 37 which extend into the space 30 from opposite sides of the bale 29. The end portions 36 and 37 of the tab 32 may be joined to each other or they may be separate and one or both of them may be provided with teeth 38 which extend at substantially a right angle to the plane of the tab and are of sufficient length to extend through the slot 31 and proie-ct into the space between the plates 17 and 19, when the end portions 36 and 37 are in engagement with the bale 29. In this way, they can intercept and engage the convolutions of the coils 1t) and 11 in the manner shown in Figure 2. It should be noted that the normal manipulation of the tab in moving the slider to a closed position will bring the teeth 33 near the island 21 and they will engage the loops of the coils 10 and 11 at a zone where they are not fully meshed. Inasmuch as the coils are not fully meshed at this point, they can move relatively so that the teeth 33 will fall between or straddle the loops and thereby will not indent or damage them.

As shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6, the tab 32 may be a unitary element which is easily assembled with the bale 29 and permanently attached to the slider. Preferably the tab 32 is formed with its arms 33 and 34 in diverging relationship so that the ends 36 and 37 are spaced widely apart although the tab may be formed with its arms parallel and they may be spread apart for assembling it with the slider. Each of the arms 36 and. 37 carries a single tooth 38, the tooth 38 on the arm 36 being located at its rear edge and the tooth 38 on the arm 37 being located at its front edge. To assemble the tab and slider, as shown in Figure 4, the arm 37 can he slipped into the right hand side of the space 30 between the rail 29 and the upper surface of the plate 17. The corner 40 at the edge of the slot 31 of the top plate can be chamfered to facilitate insertion of the arm 37 and the tooth 38 thereon. When the arm 37 has been inserted into the gap, the arm 36 is pressed into the other side of the space 30 into a position overlying the arm 37 as best shown in Figure 6. In this way, the teeth 38 are in spaced relation lengthwise of the tab and of the slot 31 so that they can engage the loops of the coils 1t) and 11 in the manner illustrated in Figure 2.

It will be appreciated that if the metal or other material from which the tab 32 is made is of sufiicient strength, the ends 36 and 37 need not be secured together although, they can be soldered or welded together if so desired to produce a more rigid structure. However, a slightly flexible tab is desirable because it aids in avoiding damage to the loops of the coils and 11 if the teeth can spring apart slightly when they are subjected to excessive pressure.

From the preceding description of a typical form of the invention, it will be understood that I have provided a locking type slider which is particularly useful with coil type fasteners and avoids damage to the fastener by contact of the locking elements with the coils thereof. The structure of the slider is such that it serves as a safety device permitting release of the coils when subjected to stresses which might damage them.

it will be understood that the tab 32 may be of a different contour or configuration than that illustrated in the drawings and that instead of rectangular it may be keystone, shell-like, circular, oblong or other shape without departing from the invention. Accordingly, it will be understood that the form of the invention described herein is illustrative and should not be considered as limiting the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a lock type slider for slide fasteners, said slider having spaced parallel plates, an island connecting said plates adjacent one end and guide flanges at their lateral edges; the improvement comprising a bale extending lengthwise one of said plates, said bale having opposite ends fixed to said one plate and having a mid-portion spaced from said one plate to define an elongated space therebetween, said one plate having an elongated slot therethrough behind said bale with one end adjacent to said island, a pull tab having a pair of elongated arms joined at one end, the other ends of the arms extending inwardly into said space from opposite sides of said bale into overlapping relation and slidable lengthwise of said mid-portion of said bale, and a tooth on at least one of said other ends of said arms, said tooth extending at substantially a right angle to the plane of the pull tab to project through and move lengthwise of said slot when the pull tab is substantially parallel to said one of said plates and bears against said bale.

2. The slider set forth in claim 1 comprising teeth on the ends of both of said arms.

3. The slider set forth in claim 1 comprising teeth on the ends of both of said arms, said teeth being spaced apart lengthwise of said tab. 7

4. In a lock type slider for slide fasteners said slider having spaced apart side plates, an island connecting and retaining said plates in spaced relation and guide flanges at the lateral edges of said plates; the improvement comprising a bale integral with and pressed out of one of said side plates and forming an elongated slot therethrough behind said bale, said slot having-one end adjacent to said island, said bale being joined at both ends to said one plate and spaced therefrom between its ends to form an elongated space between the bale and said one plate, a pull tab mounted on said bale for sliding movement therealong, said bale having arms joined at their outer ends disposed on opposite sides of said bale and inturned, inner, free, ends disposed between said disc and said one plate, said inturned free ends on said arms extending into said space and into overlapping relation from opposite sides of said bale and a tooth on the inturned free end of one of said arms, said tooth extending substantially at a right angle to said one arm, the tooth being of greater length than the thickness of said one plate to extend into the space between the plates when the tab is substantially parallel with said plates and said inturned ends are in engagement with said bale.

5. The slider set forth in claim 4 comprising a tooth on the free end of the other arm, said teeth being spaced apart lengthwise of said tab and slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 1,969,672 Poux Aug. 7, 1934 2,045,626 Winterhalter June 30, 1936 2,270,984 Winterhalter Jan. 27, 1942 2,280,999 Carlile Apr. 28, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,007,458 France May 6, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,841,852 July 8, 1958 John E. Burbank It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 2, line 14, before "surfaces" insert curved column 4,

line 25, for "disc" read bale Signed and sealed this 7th day of October 1958..

gSEAL) ttest:

KARL H, AXLINE Commissioner of Patents 

